BY BUDDY TABLER

Special to the Tribune

PRATT – Points were hard to come by here Friday evening, for both Pratt and Larned, in the season opener for both ball clubs. Pratt finally figured it out. Larned didn’t, which led to a 46-23 loss for the Lady Indians.

Larned turned the ball over 15 times in the first quarter, totally handcuffing their offense as not only were points hard to come by, even shot attempts were as Pratt forged a first quarter lead of 6-3. Five more second-quarter turnovers led to Larned struggling to score only 11 halftime points while Pratt began to find their rhythm and moved ahead 21-11--

Larned coach Ashley Crosby bemoaned the turnovers.

“We didn’t have enough girls who were ready to play at a fast pace,” she said. “We couldn’t get into any offensive flow. Pratt’s defense really bothered us. We will get better but we’ve got a lot to work on.”

Pratt outscored Larned 3-2 in the third period for a 24-13 lead.

Both teams broke out of the scoring drought in the fourth quarter but, for Larned, it was too little, too late and Pratt grabbed the early-season victory.

Pratt’s Danielle Staats scored 11 points and Kaitlyn Rasmussen added 10. Post player Kierson Maydew added six points and a strong rebounding game.

Larned’s Ivory Muldrow, Katie Fischer and Brooke Butler, all scored five points. Larned converted 3 of 22 free throws (14 percent) and made nine field goals.

Larned (0-1) plays Ellinwood Monday at Larned’s Keady Basketball Classic.